Arizona fixes people
by wbelisabeth
Summary: Set after the season finale. Arizona fixes people, it's what she does. Short one shots of her conversations with Derek, Alex and Mark.
1. Team McDreamy

**_Hi There. I haven't been writing lately, and I really wanted to get this beta'd before posting it. Unfortunately I haven't found anyone willing to beta for me. If you are so inclined to want to beta for me (we could trade stories to beta if you need someone to look over a story of yours?)... please feel free to drop me a PM. Anyhow, as usual _**_constructive __criticism _**_is always welcome!_**

**_Disclaimer: All copyrighted materials referenced in this fanfiction do not belong to me. I do not own Grey's Anatomy or any of the characters from Grey's. This is for entertainment purposes only and I make no money from posting this here. Any real people, places, events etc referenced within this fanfiction are done so in an entirely fictitious manner. _**

Arizona had taken some time to visit Derek in the surgery wing a number of times since the hospital reopened a few weeks ago. She had seen the endless flow of people and known that he'd been well looked after. She had known that he was doing well, but every time she had had some time free to drop in and say 'hi', he had had a visitor. She could see the distance in his eyes, particularly when she happened to come across Alex Karev visiting one evening.

Arizona really liked Derek. While her personality took on a little more perk than his, they were both fuelled by compassion, which made her feel like she had found a kindred spirit.

She got to his room and found it empty, except for the patient himself. He was sitting up and staring out the window. Surprised that she finally had him alone she watched him stare for a few minutes.

Eventually the blonde cleared her throat loudly, gaining his attention immediately. She smiled and saw him adopt a hasty smile. She sighed internally.

"I know this is a stupid question... But how are you?"

"Getting better" he shrugged slightly.

"I'm really glad that you are alive." she said quietly.

"I'm kind of glad too." he smiled

"I heard about the baby. I'm sorry"

He didn't say anything. There were a few moments when silence reigned. Both people alone with their thoughts.

"You know, my brother died in Iraq?"

He looked up confused about this piece of information and why she had shared it with him.

"He was in the Marines, but they were actually involved in the rebuilding of some infrastructure. Schools, hospitals and that sort of thing. It was his way of helping. It was his way of serving his country. He was in charge of a number of projects, he was always an overachiever."

She took a breath and looked out the window, just as he had been doing earlier. "One of his buildings collapsed. Two people died. I spoke to him shortly after. He was devastated. He felt awful, blamed himself even. I tried to get him to see that it wasn't his fault... But it doesn't matter how he saw it, because someone saw it differently. They saw the need to walk into the base of operations with a vest full of explosives and blow themselves and my brother's team up."

She looks at him tears brimming a little in her eyes.

"I know you take on a lot of guilt about that day. I can see it with what my Dad calls the Vietnam stare... You do your job, you do it well. Don't take on something that isn't yours. It was the fault of a man who saw things differently than us. Who refused to see that we help. That we give. I've seen you talk to Karev, I've seen your sorrow. That whole... thing? You did your job as you meant to."

"I get it now."

It was her turn for confusion.

"They are calling you McDreamy 2. I didn't really get it before, but..."

They share a smile. She starts to blush

"You did know that they call you that right? I'm married by the way... In case you thought I was coming onto you, and I hear you and Callie took a quick trip to Canada, so congratulations."

She nods.

"I wouldn't really call it a quick trip – A very threatening conversation with Mr Torres and then 30 guests later. Apparently I'm now related to most of them." She smiles as she jokingly makes her 'Yikes!' face. "Thank you, just the same. But, seriously..." She doesn't need to ask, he immediately knows what she's asking.

"I'll be ok." Arizona does her toughest stare down she could, she soon realises that it has none of the effect of either Callie or Bailey and rates about a 'Lexie' on the Hugs and Puppies meter.

"Really?"

"I know it wasn't my fault. I know that he was at fault. He. He just took away so much."

"He did. But we give so much back. We help people when there is no hope and sometimes we get to work miracles."

"You really believe in miracles? Even after that day?"

"Sometimes." She laughs to herself before continuing. "More often than not. I mean, Callie stood between me and a gunman, and we got married... You are somehow still alive even though there were no attendings around to do one of the most complex surgeries in the world... I have to believe, because there is little else that explains it." She shrugs "I believe in miracles."

He thinks for a moment about the events. Meredith and he were still alive. Their baby would never be forgotten and the people that he truly loved were safe and well. Even through the disaster of that day his wife, her sister, Richard, and all of their closest friends were alive and safe. The few that were killed would always be saddening. They would all mourn the losses and they would all have to deal with the pain, but he was alive, which was more than just good luck. He had his wife and their future ahead of them. He thinks of the possibility of a future, with a less heavy heart. The blonde in front of him, making sure that his shoulders were less burdened, even if only a little. He thinks about a possible future and for the first time in weeks he truly smiles.

"Me too."


	2. Protégé

She had seen him in and out of the hospital for checks ups. She'd seen him around and was hoping that he would come back sooner rather than later. Today was the day it seemed. His return to peds. Beside the few brief jealousy fuelled weeks, Alex Karev had been her best resident – bar none. He seemed to have enough knowledge about parents to know what buttons to push to get what he wanted and he had a way with kids that completely contrasted his outward persona.

She had invested a great many hours in his development, knowing that he would be an asset to any peds unit anywhere once he was fully trained, hopefully earning his loyalty as well as his friendship. It was easy to see that she had a soft spot for the young resident. It was even more obvious when she and Callie had heard the news of his injury.

They both had visited him, glad to hear that he would be fine. They both watched over him and Lexie, who had stayed by his bedside, both thankful that Alex had lived through the ordeal.

He walked over to her with an impish smile.

"What do you need today, Boss?"

She smiled, happy that he seemed to have returned to his pre-crazy-maniac-shooting-up-the-hospital-self.

"Well you have a whole pile of charts that need to be completed, when you are finished that you can go and the lab results for Rooms 5407, 5429 and 5433. Ok?"

While her 'Ok' sounded like a question, she really didn't mean it that way. He opened his mouth to protest the lack of surgery and she cut him off.

"Mmm-mmm, no way. Teddy said that you are on light duties. That does not mean standing for 5 hours in an operating theatre, because that's a sure fire way to get you back on the table. Charts and labs. If you are really keen you can sit in the gallery and watch."

She started to skate off, and then paused and turned back.

"Oh and don't think any other specialties will let you in to a surgery. They all know I own you." She smiled innocently and continued on her way leaving him staring at the pile of charts that awaited him. He lifted the charts and followed her to the surgical wing. He would get as close to a scalpel as he could today.

He looked over the surgery and saw his mentor making the first incisions on a tiny body. By the look of the draping and the staff in the gallery it was going to be a long boring surgery. He set himself up with the charts and began to read.

He heard the OR door open and his girlfriend walked into the room below. He watched her move over to the table and watched as she and Arizona worked together.

Arizona looked up to the gallery and saw the look in Alex's eye. The look in his eye told her that despite all previous appearances, Alex was not back to normal. Not yet. He stood up and picked up his work, before turning back and looking at his girlfriend one more time. Before he left, his eyes met Arizona's and she gave him the most reassuring look she could with her mask on. He nodded slightly before leaving.

Halfway through the surgery Lexie looked up to see that Alex was no longer there. Arizona could tell that the resident was not surprised, but could feel the disappointment radiate from the younger woman.

Later in the day she found Alex at the nurse's station in Peds, eating a sandwich and looking over charts.

"What are you doing Karev?"

"Working."

"At lunch time? When you could be spending time in the cafeteria with your friends or an on call room somewhere doing things I do not want to know about."

While he was surprised by the latter part of her question, he just shrugged.

She sighed. She knew that look. He was broken, and she had to do what she did best. She had to fix him.

"If you tell me what is wrong, I'll let you into my next surgery today."

This time he let his surprise show a little. He thought about the trade off.

Two months since he had held a scalpel. Two months since he had felt the rush of surgery. Two months he was behind on his hours for his residency. His residency was the one thing he was always sure about, so it would be worth it. If he could show her he was fine today, tomorrow she might be a little more accommodating with the OR hours.

"I- I called Lexie, Izzie."

She blinked a few times and then her face changed. Her nose scrunched up and she blushed. Arizona found herself regretting her offer.

He saw the change and couldn't understand, until it dawned on him what she had assumed.

"When I was shot. And lying on a table being operated on... I called out to Izzie."

Immediately Arizona relaxed. Alex almost laughed at the relief on her face.

"You weren't that well. I'm sure Lexie understands."

"Yeah." He sulks.

"Karev, she loves you it's obvious to everyone." She wasn't lying, Mark Sloan could even see that Alex Karev had stolen her heart. As a result Mark ended up spending a lot of time around the apartment before Callie had decided she had had enough and wanted sexy time with her wife. Alone. Her exact words were 'Mark, I love you, but can you not see my hot, hot wife that I married a week ago? Come back in a month." Arizona smiled as she played the scene, along with the honeymoon sex that followed, over in her head for a few moments (almost missing Alex's answer of an unenthusiastic 'Yeah') before returning to the current reality of Alex acting very un-Alex-like and more like their patients. He had sunk further into his chair and looked even more upset.

Arizona's first reaction is one of protection for her sweet friend.

"Look Alex, I like Lexie, a lot, if you don't love her you need to tell her."

He shakes her head and continues to look down.

"She thinks that Izzie was the great love of my life. I used to refer to the relationship Lex and I as a 'thing', I never made her feel special... she's not going to trust me."

Arizona smiles. 'He does have a heart' she instantly thought.

"Have you talked to her?"

"Yeah, she said it was fine."

"So she says it's fine, but you think that it's not?"

"Yeah."

"So you are sitting here avoiding her, what? To make her realise you love her."

"Then what do I do?"

"Talk to her? Maybe show her that you care? I mean girls like that, you know."

"I want to move forward with Lexie. I want her and me to be... something."

"I've already told you, just face forward and make plans. Sometimes they fail, sometimes they don't, and when they don't fail, well, it's really nice."

"Last time I took your advice I ended up married and abandoned."

She pauses for a moment, studying him.

"Karev, look at yourself. Jeez, if every divorced doctor in this hospital was as self pitying as you we'd have a less dreamy-McDreamy, a crying Nazi, the Chief would be somewhere dead on the side of the road and I would not be married to the hottest doctor in the hospital. Like I say, it doesn't always work out, but when it does it's worth it. So get up, find Lexie and find a spare on-call room. But be back by two because I have an appendectomy with your name all over it."

Surprised with his own actions he got up and followed her instructions. Cancer and loss had burdened his marriage and the damage done was irreparable, but he wasn't going to let this do the same damage, he wasn't going to let Lexie slip through his fingers quite so easy... he just had to tell her that.


	3. The BFF

Mark Sloan had never been so lonely in his life. He'd come to that conclusion this morning as he went to the coffee cart and didn't have anyone to order for except himself. It had been the seventeenth consecutive day. He'd taken up a seat in the attending lounge and read his medical journal, waiting for someone to talk to, but it seemed everyone came in and left without a word. He thought for a moment that perhaps he was invisible, before dismissing it. No, the woman he went home with last night definitely saw him.

He sighed.

The more he thought about the night previous, or the nights before that, the more lonely he got. His two best friends were busy. One having been shot and almost killed by some gun-wielding pathetic excuse for a man and the other was off in the realm of honeymooning. Even though she was there, she wasn't there. She was off having hot dirty sex with her wife. Not that he could blame her, hell he'd join them if he could. And it was at this point, that his thoughts changed direction entirely.

"I hope I don't have to kick you for those thoughts."

He could hear the 'I've just had loads of newlywed sex and I'm sickeningly happy about it' in her voice. He smiled. He liked seeing his best friend happy and he knew that this woman in front of him was responsible for her happiness.

"Well I probably deserve the kick, but I'd rather you didn't I bruise too easily."

She chuckled a little. Despite the fact that he was often crass and immature, he hurt her friend and the fact that he and Callie had a history that she did not wish to think about, EVER, she still valued his friendship. His ability to bring light to a situation was something that she didn't see too often in surgeons and while sometimes that light was very very dirty, he still had good intentions.

"So how are you and for that matter, how is your wife?"

A smile graced her face. Her dimples popped and her eyes brightened. She didn't even need to answer the question, he knew the answer. Despite his loneliness he felt happy that with all this crap going on in the hospital that they were able to find happiness. He had been one of the few friends included on the guest list to their wedding and really delighted in watching them commit to one another. Though it did make him painfully aware of how Lexie had rejected his offer.

He was lost in his thoughts and hadn't seen that the blonde had taken a seat next to him or that she was now looking intently at the hurt expression on his face.

"What about you Mark? Are you ok?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and gave her a smile. His eyes didn't brighten and there were no dimples popping anywhere. He was about to say that he was great, before she cut him off.

"Really?"

"I miss people."

She looked into his eyes and saw the loneliness in his eyes. She moved her hand to lie on top of his on his thigh.

"You have us. And Derek."

"Well Derek has kind of been incapacitated and you guys are totally loved up – I have been banished remember? Only thirteen days more days to go." He tries to laugh it off.

"Mark, she was joking. You are our friend. You are welcome at the apartment."

"It's not just Callie, it's Lexie. It's Addison. It's Teddy. It's… I'm Forty-Three years old and I have two friends. And that isn't a freak occurrence, I deserve it… but it would be nice to actually have someone to share things with."

"You have us. You know that right?"

"It'd be nice to have an Arizona of my own." She blushes at the comment. "Callie was so lost before you. She felt alone. You changed her life. I need that. I may not deserve it, but I sure would like it."

"Everyone deserves to be happy. Even over-sexed middle aged plastic surgeons like yourself." She smiles and he joins her. "I still think you and Teddy have a lot in common."

"Oh sure. Sleeping with another woman while I was dating her really bodes well for a relationship. I'm not even sure if Teddy is speaking to me or not."

"She has seen how devastated you've been. She's been pretty upset about Owen. I'm not suggesting that you and her go off and plan a future together, I just think you would, at the very least, make really great friends. Plus added bonus… You are Callie's best friend and she's mine… it would make the whole having friends over much less third wheel-ly" She's add the last part of 'wheel-ly' awkwardly and questioningly with one of her crazy expression and he can't help himself but smile.

"I'm so glad she found you." He whispers sincerely.

"I've just recently realized that she is what I've been looking for my whole life, so believe me when I say I wake up every morning thankful that she's beside me."

He sighs and looks at his watch.

"Come for dinner tonight?"

He looks at her and smiles questioningly at her.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not cooking. I'll order in. Cal's been cooking a lot lately."

"Want me to bring anything."

"The Mark that I've been talking to for the last few minutes would be good. Dirty Uncle Sal Mark isn't as welcome."

He nods, and leans over and kisses her on her forehead. Callie chooses that exact time to walk into the lounge.

"Thank You." He whispers to Arizona.

"You're welcome." She smiles to him as he walks out, winking at Callie before he leaves.

"Should I be jealous?" Callie asks in a playful tone.

"Mark is coming for dinner tonight."

"Why?"

"Calliope!" Slightly shocked, but mostly amused at the one track mind of her wife. "He's lonely, and we have been neglecting him."

"He's a big boy Zone, he can fend for himself."

"Who does he spend time around when he's not at the hospital?"

"Us, or Derek. You know that." Callie as puzzled as to why she was asking.

"Mmmm-Hmmm. And with us being unavailable and Derek lying in a bed at home recuperating, who do you suppose he has been spending time with?"

Callie's mouth opens in surprise. Her expression turns to horror.

"And I told him to come back in a month."

"Apparently there was thirteen days left. He's coming to dinner."

Callie walks over to her wife and sits down next to her, putting her arms around her.

"You are the best wife ever. Have I told you that?"

The blonde just smiled and enjoys the arms around her for a moment.

"I think I am going to invite Teddy too."

"Do you think that is wise… with Mark being there?"

"I think that it's time they are friends. They need to be friends."

The brunette saw the sparkle in the blonde's eye.

"Matchmaking again?"

"More like fixing… I fix people, remember?"

"I won't ever forget."


End file.
